Club News

Melbourn 1sts paid the price for travelling a man short as they were beaten at Cambs League Division 1 leaders March 1sts.

A late injury withdrawal forced Melbourn to start from behind after conceding at string 5.

That became two down as skipper Mark Oppen (4) never got going and was beaten 3-0 by a solid opponent. Melbourn were on the point of defeat when Malik Bilen (3) fell 2-0 behind. However, by the third game Bilen had adapted to his opponent’s shot variety; by the fourth game the Melbourn youngster was wearing the home player down, the decider being straightforward as Bilen won 3-2.

Ed Wheeler (2) was up against a known for his aggressive approach and tough match-play. Wheeler never got to grips with the March’s players hard volley shots, and was never able to consistently grab the upper hand as he lost 3-1. Matt Sampson (1) put in a solid and steady performance against an experienced opponent to win 3-0 and make the score 16-7 in March’s favour.

Oppen commented “The team did great and it was satisfying to come away with 7 points, even with a depleted order”